Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the recent threat by Governor Francis Nwifuru to remove any local government chairman who fails to win his area for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in next year’s election, as a recipe for chaos.
The PDP caautined the governor to stop issueing what it decsribed as a merciless order,saying the state does not belong to the governor.
The magazine reports that Governor Nwifuru made the remark on Tuesday while swearing-in the newly elected 13 local government chairmen inthe state. He had orderd the council chairmen to ensure that their domain is totally secured forthe APC, failure which they will lose their positions.
He also ordered the council bosses to dealmercillessly any opposition members whotries to take over their local governments.
“If you allow anybody to come to your local government and mess up, deal with that person mercilessly. It is either you are with me or you are against me,” Nwifuru said.
He also warned the council bosses that ‘we will remove you’ if they lose their areas to the opposition.
Since the governor made the controversial remark he has drawn trenchant criticism form the opposition and other well meaning Nigerians who said such comment is capableof heating up the system ahead the general election in 2027.
The governor’s remark has drawn sharp criticism from not a few Nigerians who said such is capable of heating up the political space ahead next year’s election.
Reacting, the state PDP chairman Ige Chikwuma cautioned the governor tostop making such reckless comment, accusing Nwifuru of giving an open charge to visit official hostility upon citizens for no offence beyond the fact that they chose their choice of party instead of the ruling APC, the governor’s party.
The governor’s remark is intentional, the PDP said, saying such isan invitation to violence during the election, adding that the governor had made similar inciteful remark in the past,which led to violence in some parts of the state, including attacks on journalists.
The party said it willnot be intimidated,and is prepared to resist any unconstitutional and unlawful steps taken by the state government, urging security agencies in the state toensure tht they are not used to intimidate opponents because ‘security architecture does not exist to serve one political entity. That principle is non-negotiable,” PDP said.
Meanwhile, analysts have urged politicians in the country to act responsibly ahead the election, saying inciteful remarks are capable of setting the country on fire, that what’s reuired most at the moment is a peaceful and violence free election.
“We will not be intimidated into silence. We will resist, through every lawful and constitutional avenue, any further assault on our members,” it added.
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